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What Are Things For?

PARA QUE SERVEM AS COISAS?

Theatre 13€

Friday 25 September · until 31 Dec

MUDE Santa Maria Maior · Lisbon
All events at this venue 3 Directions

At MUDE, this long-term exhibition rereads the history of design from the dawn of the 20th century and presents Portuguese design as a design process, questioning how and why products are designed, communicated, perceived and consumed.

Synopsis Due to maintenance work in the museum space, online sales are suspended from 7 July 2026 to 19 July 2026. However, tickets can be purchased at the local box office. The exhibition "What Are Things For?" sets out to reread the history of design and to present Portuguese design in context and as a design process. More than showing the design icons held in the MUDE collection, it questions how and why products are designed, communicated, perceived and consumed. The chronological organisation makes it possible to go back to the dawn of the 20th century and to establish open dialogues between the design pieces and the documentation, highlighting the issues that cut across different eras and inviting debate on the practices of the past and their projection into the future of each period. The exhibition design poses a new challenge to museography by prioritising the reuse of various materials from the MUDE building works that, having no further use, would otherwise have gone to waste. This curatorial decision keeps waste and the amount of refuse to a minimum, investing in the idea of promoting a circular economy and making the exhibition solution a real manifestation of the museum's intention to debate today's consumer society and the need to implement the values of economic degrowth. Opening Hours Summer hours (April to September): Tuesday to Thursday: 10am - 7pm Friday and Saturday: 10am - 9pm Sunday: 10am - 7pm Winter hours (October to March): Tuesday to Thursday: 10am - 6pm Friday and Saturday: 10am - 8pm Sunday: 10am - 6pm The museum is closed on Mondays, 25 December and 1 January. On 24 and 31 December, the museum closes at 4pm. Last entry at 3.30pm. Prices Long-Term Exhibition - What Are Things For? | 13€ DISCOUNTS Young Students (13-25 years), Seniors

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